The Illusion of Control in Procurement

You’ve got the plan. The timeline. The supplier shortlist. The RACI matrix.

Control? Locked.

Then reality hits.

Procurement, my friend, is not a dictatorship—it’s a haunted house with Excel walls.

Let’s talk about it.

🎭 The Great Procurement Illusion

We love to pretend we’re in control.
Because it feels good to have a slide deck that says:

• Spend is optimized ✅

• Suppliers are aligned ✅

• Governance is working ✅

But here’s what’s really happening behind the scenes:

• Stakeholders run rogue deals like it’s Black Friday.

• Maverick spend creeps in through “emergency exceptions.”

• Sourcing is informed after decisions are made—and sometimes not even then.

Control? That’s the illusion.
Influence? That’s the actual game.

🔍3 Signs You’ve Lost Control (But Haven’t Admitted It)

1. Stakeholders only involve you when it’s time to clean up the mess.
   You’re not a strategic partner. You’re procurement janitorial services.

2. Your policies are more like polite requests.
   And no one RSVPs.

3. Your team is spending more time chasing than sourcing.
   If every RFP feels like pulling teeth, you’re probably not the one holding the drill.

🧠 So… What Now?

Instead of trying to tighten the leash, loosen the ego.

You’re not here to control. You’re here to orchestrate.

Procurement works best when it's invisible infrastructure—like traffic systems, not traffic cops. Set direction. Design incentives. Build trust.

And yes, sometimes, let people crash.
Then offer them the better road next time.

🛒 What I’ve Been Working On This Week

To help procurement teams in retail make faster, smarter supplier decisions, I’ve built a tailored Retail Supplier Evaluation Scorecard — now free for all subscribers.
It includes risk alerts, red flag thresholds, weighted scoring, and retail-specific benchmarks.
More industries are in the works. 🚀

Check it out here: https://procurenerds.gumroad.com/l/retailscorecard

🎻 For the Strategists Out There…

Want more ammunition?

• 🎻 Even Great Suppliers Sound Bad Without a Conductor: Why governance beats micro-management.

• ⛏️ Vendor Due Diligence Is Archaeology in Disguise: Surface-level checks aren’t due diligence—they’re decoration.

👻 TL;DR

Control is a fantasy.
Governance is design.
And if your stakeholders are ghosting you—maybe it’s time to build a better haunting strategy.

💬 Reply to This

What’s your worst “illusion of control” moment in procurement?
Reply and I might feature the best one (anonymously) next week.